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Donald Trump plans to 'make America the crypto capital of the world,' Eric Trump says

Donald Trump plans to 'make America the crypto capital of the world,' Eric Trump says

President-elect Donald Trump plans to make America a leader in the cryptocurrency space, through investments and “sensible” regulations.

Eric Trump said his father “realizes that every country in the world is embracing crypto, noting that both he and the president elect have been “a big fan of crypto for a long time,” in an interview with CNBC ( CMCSA ) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

“He wants to make America the crypto capital of the world,” Trump said of his father. “He’s been very, very clear with that.”

Trump said America risks being “left behind” if it doesn’t begin ramping up its investments into digital assets. He pointed to the UAE as an example of a country that has embraced crypto and enacted regulations that have helped spur innovation and investments into the growing sector.

“America better lead the way, otherwise we’re going to leave a lot behind,” he said.

The former and incoming president’s embrace of crypto was a major cornerstone of his presidential campaign, pitching himself as the “crypto candidate” and “crypto president” while courting tech leaders.

He has called for a strategic national Bitcoin reserve , declared all Bitcoin should be mined in the U.S., and attached his name to multiple crypto projects this year.

When it comes to regulation — or deregulation — Trump said that he expects the president-elect to establish clear guidelines and “sensible regulation” that sets the rules of the road for the industry.

“It looks like it’s transparent. That’s what it is,” he said.

“A lot of people think that the crypto industry doesn’t want regulation,” he continued. “That’s actually not true. They just want sensible regulation, regulation that they can follow, regulation that’s crystal clear, that’s black and white.”

Trump also said the industry doesn’t “want to see people like Gary Gensler, who was absolutely a disaster for crypto.” He accused the Securities and Exchange Commission chair of doing “everything he could to stifle innovation.”

Gensler said he will be leaving his role on Jan. 20, the day of Trump’s inauguration — a welcome move for the crypto industry, which has crusaded against the SEC official for the agency’s strict oversight of the industry. Under his guidance, the SEC took on high-profile cases against a number of major industry players, such as Coinbase and Binance .

President-elect Trump has tapped Paul Atkins, a cryptocurrency advocate, to chair the regulator. Atkins, who now leads the consulting firm Patomak Global Partners, has chaired The Digital Chamber’s Token Alliance since 2017, which was charged with advocating best practices and recommending legal frameworks that promote the crypto industry.

— William Gavin contributed to this article.

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